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The Citizen, 2009-12-10, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2009.EditorialsOpinions Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie GroppAdvertising, Ken Warwick & Lori Patterson The CitizenP.O. Box 429,BLYTH, Ont.N0M 1H0Phone 523-4792 FAX 523-9140 P.O. Box 152,BRUSSELS, Ont.N0G 1H0Phone 887-9114 E-mail norhuron@scsinternet.comWebsite www.northhuron.on.ca Looking Back Through the Years CCNA Member Member of the Ontario Press Council The Citizen is published 50 times a year in Brussels,Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc.Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $34.00/year ($32.38 + $1.62 G.S.T.) in Canada;$105.00/year in U.S.A.and $175/year in other foreign countries.Advertising is accepted on thecondition that in the event of a typographical error,only that portion of the advertisement will becredited.Advertising Deadlines: Monday, 2 p.m. - Brussels; Monday, 4 p.m. - Blyth.PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40050141PAP REGISTRATION NO. 09244RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TOCIRCULATION DEPT. PO BOX 152 BRUSSELS ON N0G 1H0 email: norhuron@scsinternet.com Dec. 9, 1965 Lawrie Cousins, holder of the buttermakers certificate at Cousins Dairy and Creamery was awarded fifth prize for all Ontario for butter manufactured during the previous year. The award was presented at the 50th anniversary of the Ontario Creamerymen’s Association in Toronto. A sample of butter from each churning manufactured was sent to the federal government butter graders who calculated the score for flavour, workmanship and sanitation. Turkey bingo winners were: Mrs. John Cousins, Edythe Raymond, Jean Lamont, Pat Shaw, Larry Smith, Carl Graber, Mary Bone, Jean Bridge, Mrs. Fred Becker and Neil Breckenridge. The construction of the burial chapel at Brussels Cemetery was nearing completion and would soon be available for committal services and storage purposes. Folks were dancing to the music of The Polaras at Cranbrook Community Centre. It was Santa Claus Day in Brussels with a parade and specials at local merchants’ businesses. W.L. Baeker and son were advertising weiners for 45 cents a pound, sirlion T-bone and wing steaks at 79 cents a pound and cold meats for 59 cents. The Texan Grill was holding a draw for a two-pound box of chocolates, while S.B. Elliott and Son had a draw for Christmas cake. Dave Hastings finished the month’s bowling with the highest average. That week’s high lady was Mary Lowe while John Cousins had the title for the men. At the Lyceum Theatre in Wingham it was Marriage on the Rocks on the big screen, with an all- star cast that included Frank Sinatra, Deborah Kerr, Dean Martin, Caesar Romero and Nancy Sinatra. The Saturday matinee was Everything’s Ducky. Dec. 9, 1981 Penpals for many years was a rare thing, but Mildred McAdam of Clinton and Anne Swidrowich of Saskatchewan had kept the pens writing for 45 years. Carter’s mother had sent a small doll to a girl out west in 1936, with a note saying who the doll belonged to and asking that the recipient please write. That was the beginning of a long friendship. Turkeys were selling for 84 cents a pound at Zehrss, while two loaves of bread could be purchased for 99 cents. Egg nog was 99 cents a litre and a 350-gram container of mixed nuts was $1.99. Twenty-nine municipalities of the Maitland and Lucknow River watershed were represented at the 1981 Maitland Valley Conservation Authority’s meeting. The budget presented showed an averaged general levy increase of 11.5 per cent. A Special White sewing machine was selling at Blyth Pro Hardware for $349.95, $50.04 less than the usual price. Harrison Ford starred in Raiders of the Lost Ark, playing at Goderich’s Park Theatre. Dec. 10 1986 Hundreds lined the streets for the annual Brussels Santa Claus parade. Brussels council was meeting with Ontario Provincial Police to explore alternatives to a curfew for limiting the destruction from vandals on Halloween. A lawyer speaking to organizations in a meeting at the Blyth arena advised them to become incorporated or face the possibility of a crippling lawsuit from someone injured as a result of a community function. “You people have survived on a basic quote of incredible luck, but a lawsuit it going to happen. We’re still in the horse and buggy stage around here, but you are going to have to grow up. You are going to have to get some protection,” counsel admonished. Brussels village council approved a $325 for the Santa Claus parade but expressed disappointment in the lack of interst from the businesses. A meeting had been held that was attended by very few main street people. Cam Procter was named president of the Huron-Perth Shorthorn Club. Another Brussels-area man, Bob Higgins, was acclaimed as secretary-treasurer. Dec. 11, 1996 Mary Lowe of Brussels travelled to Picton to receive the Degree of Chivalry, the highest degree in Ontario for the IOOF and Rebekah Lodges. She was accompanied by her granddaughter Nicole Lowe. Winning entries in the Brussels Santa Claus parade were Little Darling’s, Brussels Sparks, Brussels Agricultural Society, Steamatic, Jane Hoggart, Krista Richmond and Brenda Tyndall. Dr. Greg Antoniadis established a practice in Blyth. The Hamilton- born physician moved to Wingham in the summer and was looking forward to serving the Blyth community on a part-time basis. Lee and Lila Rintoul of RR2, Lucknow earned the award for Grand Champion group of three lambs at the Royal Winter Fair. Pastor Glen Brubacher was the interim pastor at Brussels Mennonite Fellowship. Craig Fair and Shannon Scott performed a song from Les Mis during F.E. Madill’s fifth annual Performance Showcase. I have written this letter to Premier Dalton McGuinty asking for his help: The current education climate in Ontario is threatening the lifeblood of our small towns and rural communities and making fools of us all. In my community of Huron East, our board of education has proposed that both of our schools be closed, and our students transported greater distances to schools outside of the community. Now schools, as you can appreciate, are far more than bricks and mortar to us. They are a fundamental fabric of our rural society, and something we will always fight for. School closures are divisive and emotional at the best of times. But with all due respect, please do not simply tell me that hard times require hard decisions. We are not afraid of making hard decisions in rural Ontario. But we are afraid of making poor decisions that are based on misinformation, and without a spirit of respect, equity or transparency. Along with hundreds of my baffled friends and neighbours, I have sat through bewildering ARC sessions where I have been informed that: * It will cost the board $766,000 to keep our school open for the next 10 years; * It will cost the board $78,000 to keep our school open for the next 10 years; * The board is not sure what it will cost to keep our school open, but that cost is prohibitive; * It will cost the board an additional $2.6 M over the next 10 years to bus our students elsewhere, but those costs do not need to be accounted for; * The costing information used by the board is three years out of date; * These costing figures may change, but the outcome will not; * Enrolment at our school is declining, but may increase; * Enrolment at our school is increasing, but may decline; * The board is not sure of the accuracy of enrolment figures they may change, but the outcome will not; * Proposals for new schools in the region have been approved by the Ministry, and include our current school in the calculations; * Proposals for new schools in the region have been approved by the Ministry, but did not include our current school in the calculations; * Proposals for new schools in the region have not been approved by the Ministry, and the entire discussion around School Accommodations Reviews is premature and irrelevant. I am as bright as some, and a bit We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP) toward our mailing costs. We are not responsible for unsolicited newsscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copyright Let’s make an omelette With the release Monday of independent facilitator Margaret Wilson’s report that found no fault with the Avon Maitland District School Board’s accommodation review process in the closing of the Blyth Public School the time of decisions made by others is over. Now it’s time to take control of the situation left to us by decisions made by others. The old saying goes that when you’re given broken eggs, you can always make an omelette. With the fate of the Blyth school now sealed, and the fate of the Belgrave school having been decided earlier, it’s time for the communities to prepare for the day when those schools close. While the loss of the schools is a terrible blow to the communities the vacant buildings offer an opportunity for them to come together and find uses that will make up for some of the loss. In this, Blyth and Belgrave can take a lesson from those Walton residents who came together several years ago to purchase the Walton school and make it a hub of activity for the community. It would be ideal if some fairy godmother or godfather private investor came along and purchased the buildings and made them important parts of the community but realistically it’s unlikely to happen. However if the communities resurrect their rural tradition of coming together to make things happen, these buildings could help rebuild our communities. Could they be retirement homes for our residents so they don’t have to move away? Could part of them become medical centres? Could, in the case of Blyth, the building house a school for the arts? Now is the time to start thinking about the future. We need to bring people together with their best ideas. We need to pool our dollars to create the investment funds needed. We need to grab this opportunity to rebuild our communities that others are tearing down. Let’s make an omelette from these broken eggs.— KR It pays to be honest Some climate researchers at the Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia in England need to remember the words of their mothers when they said it was always best to tell the truth. The researchers, from e-mails that were somehow released to the public on the eve of the Copenhagen Climate Summit, didn’t trust others to understand the urgency of climate change so manipulated the inform- ation released. By doing so, they’ve provided ammunition for all the climate skeptics to say climate change isn’t happening or is exaggerated. Of course the skeptics play with their own figures, choosing which climate statistics to quote. And the rest of us use a cool summer like the last one to create our doubts. We believe what we see. Too bad we don’t see with our own eyes the open water in the Arctic where once the ice stayed all summer. If ever there was irrefutable evidence it’s right there to see. — KR & Letter to the editor Continued on page 6